savor summer

Man, my computer literally has dust on it.

Now-a-days I've just been checking emails and getting back to peeps via the handy cell phone, while I'm flat on the couch with crackers and ginger tea at my reach. The nausea is still in full swing, and the baby belly growing exhaustion is killer.

Good news... FALL (my fav season!) is almost here!

And more good news, you still have a month left of summer,
so soak up and savor the last drops of it before it's gone.
It's funny, here in SoCal the scorching summer heat just arrived, perfect timing I'd say. :)

Here's some last minute summer suggestions, so gather the fam, and go at it!
And come back and share what you crossed off your list! I'd love to read about it while I'm bed-ridden. :)
.
Feel the sand in your toes...Taste something sweet and juicy...

Be one with nature...Ride a bike...Sleep in a tent

...Listen for the ocean in a seashell...Have a picnic...

Pick berries...Ride in a boat...Plant a garden

...Lie in a hammock...Fly a kite...

Blow dandelions...Catch butterflies...

Run through a sprinkler...Take in a baseball game...

Throw a frisbee...Chalk up the sidewalk

...Roast marshmallows...Jump off a diving board...

Go on a hike...Go on a roadtrip...Make a fort...

Find a rainbow...Stargaze...Connect with bugs

...Swing the day away...Watch the waves roll in...

Take a plunge...Have a water-balloon fight...

Look for cloud formations...Take a nap on the grass

...Skip rocks...Play hide-and-seek...Dig for worms

...Smell flowers...Set up a lemonade stand...Go fishing...

Put on a play...Run barefoot...Make mud pies...

Blow bubbles...Hold your breath under water

...Build a sandcastle...Do a cartwheel...

Play kickball...Hula hoop...Go on a scavenger hunt

...Build a box car...Get lost in an adventure...

Eat ice-cream sandwiches...Catch a sunset...

And here's a look back at our summer roadtrip. Oh, the memories we made!

video song: Corinne Bailey Rae

savor summer list: adapted from Parents Magazine, Sept 2010
(because I'm too out of it to even come up with something on my own to blog!) :)

san fran stole my heart

This was my first time seeing San Francisco!

Well, like I mentioned before, this whole trip was first time visits. :)

We were only there a couple hours,

heading down from Sonoma back to Murrieta to pick up Ewan.

But I coulda stayed there forever.

I was most excited about THE bridge!

Ummm, MOVE stupid fog.

Crossed over. Awesome. Parked at Ghiradelli Square. Yum. Bought chocolate.

Then went to gaze at the iconic red beauty from across the water.

And took the traditional bridge-in-the-background picture,

that EVERYONE takes when they go there,

and I wanted mine...

Dang. Stupid fog. :)

I wanted In-N-Out for breakfast. Hamburger protein style, with fries and chocolate shake, thankyouverymuch.

But settled for Jeff's choice. He's a breakfast guy. I hate breakfast food.

But to my fancy, they had this European plate on the menu. Meat, bread, cheese, I'll take it!

More touristy walking...

sourdough and chocolate buying...

trolley hunting...

And home we went.

Home sweet home.

We love you California.

Thank you for being so amazingly beautiful.

Well, that was it. I was hoping to have a big finish to this roadtrip extravaganza, but for now, this is the end. Maybe I'll revisit it later, I had hopes of a video recap with the tons of car footage taken. But things are movin' on here, especially since we've been back home livin' the everyday life for nearly 3 weeks now. :)

...........

Now for some fun...

Like the Home Sweet Home print above?

It's from Tank and Tink's etsy shop!

And Miss Molly is havin' a little giveaway.

Go check it, yo. :)

And some more fun...

I'm participating in The Alphabet Blog Hop
over at One Sydney Road!
So excited! But soooooo not ready.
I'm up to bat in a few days, so "P" hunting I'll be going tomorrow,
or Tuesday... Ah! I'll be cuttin' it close. :)
Come back Thursday to see what I find!
And check out the rest of the hoppers this week, here.

self timer sonoma

We were obviously not on our game that day when it came to hit-the-button-run-and-pose.

Hideous. And this was BEFORE any wineries. New plan: wineries, then pictures. You guessed it, it gets better. :)

It's a Monday afternoon. Just the 2 of us. Wineries are open from 11:30am-4:30pm. We took full advantage of the 5 hours.

A little facebook mobile uploading interruption. You know you do it too. :)

  

I love cheese. This was cheese heaven.

Picnic time.

Instead of the smile-and-look-hot-with-food-in-your-mouth, we got the creepy-eaters-under-the-tree-look. Obviously.

Nothing a half-dozen timer shots later couldn't help. You know, gotta capture the moment. In a perfect post it on the blog kinda way. :)

More wine tasting.

More bottle purchasing. And look! it only cost $10 for 8 bottles. Right. That's what you get at the last winery when everything tastes amazing. An armload to take home and put in your non-existent wine cellar. :)

Gallivanting around Napa and Sonoma from point A-H, done. And back to our hotel we went. Long drive home tomorrow...

And we're driving...

Drive, Drive, Drive, Mount Shasta!

Drive, Drive, Drive, OREGON! 

Drive, Drive, Drive, SWITCH!

Trees, Trees, Trees, TREES!

FAMILY!

We made it to our 4 day destination. Salem, Oregon.

Played. Golfed. Graduated. BBQ'd. Rocked out. Celebrated big... Graduation, Father's Day and 2 Birthdays!

 

Rockband and Guitar Hero were inseparable.

And Ewan saw his FIRST movie theater movie... Toy Story 3!

Cousins! Lots of cousins!

We love you guys! Now it's YOUR turn to come visit! :)

...............

And that was the end to our 3 person roadtrip. Ewan flew home with Jeff's parents, and Jeff and I started the 3 day/2 person roadtrip back home. Can you say early anniversary vacay? :)

fishies, sharks, and seahorses

Well, got up early for the Argentine game this morning... darn Germany. We're out. Got rocked. Painful loss. Ok, moving on from the World Cup...

We had the fishy faces going by the end...

Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium... check!
Now for the next Aquarium on my list...



Well, that was it for the first 2 days. Are you still there? Have you tuned out yet?
Still got lots more roadtrip ahead. Mount Shasta anyone? :)